For those that want a small sample of the content of the book, below is an excerpt, I suggest you read it while listening to this music.

Chaz looked longingly at his bride. “Well, since our day has begun, I think we should get dressed.”
Naomi nodded and hurried to her room. Aware that Chaz had followed her, she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned toward him. “I am glad you pay attention to all the little things in my life.” She opened the bedroom door.
Chaz placed his hand on the doorjamb and drew her close. He drank in her early morning rumpled beauty and asked, “So, you are not mad at me?”
“There is nothing to be mad about.” Ducking under his arm, she crossed the threshold. While closing the door, she smiled at him. “If we hurry we will have more time to spend together.”
Hearing the eagerness in her words, Chaz grinned and scratched his stubble. “That is what I was thinking.” He headed to the master suite, intent on making this day the best day yet for the two of them.
While Chaz wondered how they should spend the day, Naomi dressed and tidied up the parlor. When he entered the room, she asked, “Have you been reading Madre Vieda’s journal?”
Surprised to discover that, though she had fainted, and spent time in bed, Naomi knew his every move, Chaz exclaimed, “Va a ser una madre maravillosa!”
“I know you believe I will be a wonderful mother, but flattery will never get you out of trouble!” She held up the journal. “Were you reading this journal again?”
He grimaced. “I was trying to find out why everything associated with her and her journal affects you. Do you understand what I am saying?”
“Sí, absolument! At this point, I think we are both concerned!”
Chaz breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you saying that I am absolutely right to make me feel better?”
“I said what I did because it is the truth.” Aware that when she played the piano, Madre Vieda was with her, and believing within that experience was the answer, Naomi hurried to set it up. She sat down, and began to play. Why, I am myself again, she thought as she noticed the little mistakes she always made that had not occurred when her mentor and she were enmeshed.
“You seem yourself again,” Chaz said as he watched her play.
“I think you are right.”
He bent down and whispered in her ear, “You are back, and you are mine.”
As she turned to look at him, she stopped playing. “Chaz, you are right! I am myself again!”
He kissed her. “Now tell me, my amorcita, my sweetheart, what are you playing?”
“A piece from the New World Symphony that Dvořák wrote when he came to the United States. I love its tenor and history.”
“How do you know about such things?”
“I heard this piece often because Madre Vieda loved to play her old record of it.”
He watched Naomi’s hands as she tried to evoke the unique nuances of the music.
“Why did she like it?”
“Perhaps because, like I do when I am with you, the music made her feel…”
“Safe.”
She nodded. “Thank you for doing what you knew I would hate, to show me how much you care for and about me cariño, my beloved.”
“No fue nada.”
“Your nothing is everything to me, Chaz.”
He sat down beside her on the piano bench, and she felt as if they were reliving that sweet moment before everyone, even Chaz, had turned away from her. Pushing that horrid memory away, she nodded to the ‘listening chair’. “She loved that a foreign composer came here to teach music and told his students to use American folk tunes as the basis for their compositions.”
She stopped playing, for he had not moved. “It is best that you stopped,” he said. “For you to continue before I had time to tell you that for me this is a bittersweet moment, which brings back both our joy as well as the painful memories I inflicted upon you, needed to be said, and forgiveness from you sought.”
Her hand caressed his as she nodded and whispered, “Forgiveness was given before I reaffirmed my wedding vows.”
“Thank you. Now I am able to hear what you were saying.”
“I will continue when you sit as I directed because—”
“Because that is where the music sound best…is that not so?”
“You know it is.” He sat in the chair, nodded, and Naomi continued, “Dvořák believed American music should reflect what he called ‘Negro melodies’. Madre Vieda quoted him saying, ‘They are the folk songs of America, and your composers must turn to them’. To prove his point, Dvorák wrote the New World Symphony using songs like ‘Oh Susanna’ and many others. I think his lyrical refrains sound as new today as they must have to his students when this symphony was first performed at Carnegie Hall in December of 1893.”
“I am glad to have all of you here with me again.”
Naomi nodded. “I know I am back from wherever I went. Whatever happens, do not let me go away from you ever again.”
“What was it like for you to be here…but not altogether here?”
Stopping abruptly, Naomi focused on some distant place for a second, and then returned. “How did you know that was happening?”
“You were somehow removed. It felt as if something stood between us.”
“Now that I am back, I know that I was gone. What was here with you was just a part of me. Madre Vieda had a portion of my heart and would not release it until you freed me.”
“Since this began when you started reading Madre Vieda’s journal, you are not to read her journal unless I am here. Do you understand?”
“I do…but I…I must tell you that looking back at what happened to me, I know I must go where the music leads.”
“Naomi, what music…What do you mean?”
“I know it is hard to understand, but for me, each of you has a melody, a refrain within me. Although I love you, I have heard Madre Vieda’s music for half of my life. When that gentle song calls me, I must answer.”
“And me? Why is it that my song does not pull you to me no matter what you hear?”
“Your song is like music coming from another room. I hear it and want to run toward it. Something stops me, and I do not understand why.”
“Naomi, I had to fight against myself, my beliefs, and even my idea of how a man should be treated by his wife before I could come back to you! Now, you need to fight this thing so our love will endure, and we will grow old together!”
“Yes, I know you are right! Bear with me, mi querido…my beloved. I did not mean to leave you this way. I will fight for us even against the pull of Madre Vieda.”
“Good. Since music is the key, I fight fire with…melodies of love,” Chaz said as he hurried to the record player and returned as the music and words of Johnny Mathis swirled around them. Taking her hand, Naomi stood, and Chaz pulled her close. They danced to ‘Until the Twelfth of Never’ as they had when he first gifted his bride the song and taught her how to dance. They focused on the conformity of their steps and the words of the song that made their hearts beat as one a few weeks ago.
Humming along with the song, Chaz realized he had to share his heart, and said, “When I met you, Madre Vieda had become but a distant memory.”
Her heart in her eyes, Naomi looked at him. “Yes. That is true.”
Drinking her in, he held her tight. “One cannot learn about marriage from someone who has not been married.”
“When I think of my time with her and compare it with my time and my love for you, the word that best describes my feeling is intermezzo.”
“If you want me to understand what you are saying, speak to me in words I understand!”
“Forgive me!” Naomi exclaimed. She blushed scarlet, prayed silently for God’s help, and explained, “Intermezzo is a musical term which means ‘in the meantime’. It is a little something played between major themes to fill up space and allow the listener to take in the music without being overwhelmed.”

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paula Rose Michelson is not only an author but also a mother of two married daughters, and the grandmother of seven. She authored the Casa de Naomi Series. And today, February 1, 2014 The Naomi Chronicles, Book One, Beginning Anew will release on Amazon.

In 1988, she founded LAMB Ministries which teaches women recovering from trauma and abuse.

While awaiting the copyright for the first LAMB recovery book titled, “Why Did We Become Angry?” She wrote a series of politically incorrect articles that will be published under the title, “The Purple Pitch Seduction of America.” These will release in 2014.

Hi Paula, I have a few short questions for you.

How did you come up with the title?

Since Naomi and Chaz are picking up the tattered pieces of their lives, the title “Beginning Anew” spoke itself into my heart. Adding “The Naomi Chronicles” lets people who read the two “Casa de Naomi” books know that this is a continuation of that story. And of course adding “Book One” was necessary so shoppers would know which book followed which.

Was it hard to keep to your outline?

Once Naomi began telling me her story there was no need of an outline. The hardest thing I had to do was trust her and know she knew her story best and could tell it better than I ever could.

How did you feel after finishing the draft?

I finished the rough draft in 2009 and rejoiced! Then aware that Naomi had more to share, I continued writing.

Are you writing more Naomi books?

Yes! Before the first Naomi book was published I had written the draft for five of the six books that comprise my heroines’ faith journey. The titles of the other Naomi books are: Commitment for Two, Sorrow Season, and Triumphant Joy. I plan to publish one book a year.

Thank you Paula. I’m sure the readers will be glad to know there’s more books to come. If you are curious to find out more about this author, she can be found online on:

You met Rex Braden in Lovers at Heart, Book One of the The Bradens (Love in Bloom Series). Jade Johnson is about to turn his comfortable rancher’s life upside down. Don’t miss this powerful love story.

Rex Braden is wealthy, hard working, and fiercely loyal. Sweat at his brow, he works the family ranch by day, then kicks back at night with part time lovers who require nothing more than his physical presence a few times each week. But that was before. Before Jade Johnson, the daughter of the man his father has been feuding with for over forty years, moves back into town.

After ditching a horrific relationship—and her veterinary practice in the process—Jade Johnson returns to the safety of her small hometown and finally finds her footing. That is…until her horse is injured and Rex Braden comes to her rescue. The last thing she needs is a bull-headed, too-handsome-for-his-own-good Braden complicating her life.

Despite the angry family history, sparks fly between Rex and Jade, and attitudes follow. Fifteen years of stifled, forbidden love stirs a surge of passion too strong for either to deny—and the rebel in each of them rears its powerful head. Loyalties are tested, and relationships are strained. Rex and Jade are about to find out if true love really can conquer all.

Watch for the full LOVE IN BLOOM series:

SNOW SISTERS

Sisters in Love
Sisters in Bloom
Sisters in White

THE BRADENS

Lovers at Heart
Destined for Love
Friendship on Fire
Sea of Love
Bursting with Love
Hearts at Play

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Melissa Foster is the award-winning author of four International bestselling novels. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the Women’s Nest, a social and support community for women, the World Literary Café. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa is also a community builder for the Alliance for Independent Authors. She has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.

Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . .

She’s clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he’s taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid’s response.

It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . .

A captivating and magical adult retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

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Below you can read praise for Mistress of the Wind:

“Diener’s adaptation retains the familiar elements of the original, echoing both the structure and spirit of the classic, but true to form, she puts her own spin both the plot and the narrative, crafting an intricately alluring tale of self-sacrifice, steadfast devotion and enduring love.“ Flashlight Commentary

“The story is fast-paced and never boring, the world a beauty and Michelle’s writing so wonderfully detailed that I felt I was with Bjorn and Astrid on their journey.“ Book Bird Reviews

Author Michelle Diener takes this re-telling to another level. She doesn’t restrict herself to an East of the Sun, West of the moon retelling. Instead we are also given parts reminiscent of Psyche’s quest. Which just allowed for a much more richer story. Paperback Wonderland

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Michelle Diener was kind enough to tell us a bit about her new book!

Mistress of the Wind is based on the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. It’s a fairy tale I’ve loved since I was a child, but it wasn’t until I started seriously researching the origins and mythology of East of the Sun, West of the Moon in preparation for writing Mistress of the Wind that I discovered what a unique fairy tale it is in many respects.

Fairy tales are generally grouped into types by folklorists using the Aarne-Thompson classification system, and East of the Sun, West of the Moon is classified as AT-425A, in the ‘husband’ group of tales, which also includes Beauty and the Beast and Psyche and Eros.

What is unique about East of the Sun, West of the Moon, is that when the heroine goes in search of her lover, the people who help her along the way do not do so because of any action on her part. Usually in a fairy tale–in fact, almost across the board–an elderly, mysterious figure or animal will aid the hero or heroine because of an act of kindness they have shown, or because of a favor the hero / heroine has done first.

In East of the Sun, West of the Moon, the heroine is helped as if it is her due. This really sparked my interest, along with the magical flying horses that are lent to her, and the assumption by all concerned that the four winds will give the heroine their aid.

I approached the story with the question: why would this be so? Because I was writing a full-length novel off of what is, in my fairy tale collection, only 8 pages of text, I obviously had to make the story make sense. Quite often in fairy tales coincidences, strange happenings and the relationships between characters are never explained, but it is assumed the reader will accept them, even though there is no reason behind them. That obviously wouldn’t work in a full-length novel. So I decided to explore all mythology relating to the wind, and came across the myth of the Wind Hag, and I just knew I had found the core of my story.

If you are surprised at the use of the Wind Hag as a powerful heroine, let me explain why the crone or hag is a powerful, rather than a pitiable or evil character. And she doesn’t have to be old and ugly, either. The book Women Who Run with the Wolves by Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes first introduced me to the idea of the hag as a force of power and self-determination. Estes looked at a number of fairy tales and myths across many cultures, at a time when the power of the feminine had a strong place in society. As the patriarchal Christian religion encroached on society across Europe, women who understood herbology, kept the (pagan) myths and legends alive and who were respected and whose opinions mattered within the social structure, were a direct threat to the new religion.

It was most certainly in the interests of the Church to demonize and undermine these women and what they stood for, and it is no coincidence that the stereotype of a witch is an old hag or crone. They certainly caught the brunt of the Inquisition’s witch hunts, and again, that was no coincidence.

It felt right to weave the myth of the Wind Hag through East of the Sun, West of the Moon, even though it isn’t in the original. It fit in some way that was really satisfying, and it felt empowering.

Because this is originally a Scandinavian tale, I used Norse mythology to enrich it, although I made a few of the magical creatures up, from a mish-mash of fairy tale creatures and myth.

One aspect of East of the Sun, West of the Moon which I love is that this is a tale where the heroine rescues the hero. I love how the heroine takes action, refusing to give up even in the face of impossible odds. East of the Sun, West of the Moon has one of the bravest, most proactive heroines of any fairy tale, and her journey is striking in how it can be read from a Jungian point of view.

The Jungian psychologist, Marie-Louise Von Franz, made a life’s study out of fairy tales and how they relate to ego and our sense of self. I am in awe of her work. One of the points she makes about fairy tales is how they are reflections of our relationship with ourselves, and I found that true over and over again as I wrote Mistress of the Wind.

I love that the heroine cannot rescue the prince until she has travelled to all four corners of the world, and I saw that very much as an allegory for her needing to explore her strengths and come to understand her own power and worth before she could save someone else.

I wrote Mistress of the Wind continually awed and amazed by the depth and richness of the original tale, and so, while I’ve woven new things into the story, like the Wind Hag, Norse mythology and some of my own imagination, I also tried to remain faithful to the original tale. I wanted to respect the original, and honor it. And it was certainly a privilege to write it. I just hope I did it justice.

– Michelle Diener

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Let me now tell you a bit about the author:

Michelle Diener writes historical fiction. Her Susanna Horenbout & John Parker series, set in the court of Henry VIII, includes In a Treacherous Court, Keeper of the King’s Secrets and In Defense of the Queen.

Michelle’s other historical novels include Daughter of the Sky, The Emperor’s Conspiracy and Banquet of Lies (loosely connected to The Emperor’s Conspiracy).

Michelle’s first fantasy novel, Mistress of the Wind, is set for a December 23, 2013, release.

Michelle was born in London, grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Australia with her husband and two children.

Vera Custodio has never fallen in love, though she has strong feelings for her friend and sometimes lover, Zach Spencer. Long-forgotten memories resurface when Vera discovers Zach’s mother was the woman her father supposedly murdered many years ago.

After losing his leg, former triathlete Zach Spencer reevaluates his life—and realizes he’s falling in love with Vera. When she ends their relationship, Zach is determined to prove his love and follows her to Australia in search of the killer.

Caught between a web of family secrets and a deranged adversary, Vera and Zach must depend on each other for survival. Love blossoms, but the truth explodes everything Vera knows about herself. Will she close her heart forever or risk it all for a shot at happily-ever-after?

Rachelle Ayala is the author of dramatic fiction crossing genres and boundaries featuring strong but flawed characters. She writes emotionally challenging stories and is not afraid of controversial topics. However, she is an optimist and laces her stories with romance and hope.

Rachelle Ayala has written four novels. Michal’s Window is a powerful and emotional journey as lived through the eyes of Princess Michal, King David’s first wife. Broken Build is a story of redemption and healing where a man learns to love and trust the woman who destroyed his life. Hidden Under Her Heart is a heartfelt love story mixed with controversy over difficult decisions.

Her latest is Knowing Vera , a steamy romantic suspense involving family secrets, disability, and an unsolved murder.